I got accepted to UCR and UCSB. I like both schools that I don’t know which university to choose! Help? My major for UCR is Media and Culture Studies and for UCSB is Communciation. I want to go to UCR because I like it there and it’s closer to home, but then UCSB’s ranking is higher compare to UCR. Can anyone give me some suggestions on which school to choose and why? Thank you so much!
Hmm definitely a tough decision. Well I’m going to UCR and I was in a situation that was sort of the same as you. I was wait-listed to UCSC and I made the decision that if I am accepted to UCSC, I will go to UCR instead. I would take rankings with a grain of salt though. The only thing rankings show you is how generally hard working/smart the student population is. In this case UCSB is far more selective so you’ll likely be surrounded by people who worked hard in high school, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be successful in college. UCSB is located in a far more nicer location. I was accepted to SDSU and since SDSU is located in a far more nicer location and has more to do, I took those factors into serious consideration. I still ultimately chose UCR because I am only like 25 minutes away from the school and I felt like I couldn’t afford a dorm. I also feel that no matter which UC we choose we still are going to get a great education and that the difficulty of many classes will be the same. I’ve seen it with real people and here on college confidential where students from a “lower” UC transfer to UCLA or Cal and say there is generally no difference in the education. UCSB also has a way better party scene if you are into that and is considered to be one of the nicest colleges in the U.S. due to where its located. UCR has made great strides though lately and is constantly getting better for 2 major reasons. 1.) New Med School 2.) Is no longer a referral campus and the average admitted GPA in 2013 was a 3.76. This has most likely gone up to around a low 3.8 since UCR has been getting record numbers of applicants in the past 2 years and this year they can only accept the same amount of students as last year despite the record number of applicants thus meaning you are going to be surrounded by generally hard working and motivated students. Riverside though isn’t all that great as I am sure you know but it’s been getting better. If you feel like trying the “true college experience” then go to UCSB but if you don’t mind commuting and the weather in Riverside as a whole UCR is worth a shot. If you haven’t visited the 2 absolutely try to. I visited SDSU and though it was very nice, I felt so right at UCR. Congratulations for your acceptance to both colleges!